A journalism student has founded a ‘beauty bank’ to provide hygiene and cosmetic products for people in need.
Lauren Robinson, a second year BA journalism student at the University of Sunderland, has set up the project after volunteering with homeless people and at foodbanks in the past.
The 20-year-old is calling for donations of toiletries, sanitary towels and basic cosmetics to give out to the needy in the North-East of England.
Alistair Robinson, programme leader for Lauren’s course, has praised the initiative.
University of Sunderland journalism student Lauren Robinson
He told the Sunderland Echo: “It’s great to see a journalism student not only identifying problems and reporting on them, but actually doing something about them.”
Lauren said: “We all now know how important foodbanks have become in feeding people and families who are fighting to get by. The idea of the beauty bank is to offer toiletries, even if it’s just the basics, which will help people stay clean.
There’s a real need for this, yet it has somehow gone unnoticed for a long time. What it’s about is creating confidence.
“Not having access to basic toiletries can have such an impact if you’re going for a job interview. Little things, like putting on a bit of make-up can make a big difference.
She added: “It’s such an easy problem to solve. “Let’s face it, we all get lots of toiletries, make-up and similar bits-and-bobs for Christmas or birthdays, and most of the time these get pushed to the back of the cabinet and forgotten about.
“All we’re asking is that people instead donate these items to us and we will make sure they reach those most in need.”
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Great work, she’s to be applauded. This is one of the things that often flies under the radar but hygiene and indeed self respect are really important too.
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Well done to Lauren on this selfless initiative, more publishers should support and run equally important but overlooked campaigns rather than ones simply aimed at putting themselves and the editor in a good light.
Let’s hope the local Sunderland paper ( not sure what it is these days) gets behindbitvtoo
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Fantastic!
It’s just a shame the EDP didn’t adopt this caring and supportive view rather than their columnist belittling the work of volunteers at the city’s soup kitchen during the recent freezing conditions, this is just the sort of initiative local papers should be instigating if they want to be taken seriously by their communities and do genuine good for the places they happily trade in and take money from.
Well done Lauren and those like her across the uk doing thoughtful,much needed work
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